(A) Standards applicable to all communications towers.
(1) Lot; location. A communications tower may not be located on a lot occupied by other principal buildings and structures but may occupy a leased parcel within a lot meeting bulk and area requirements for the applicable zoning district and the requirements of this section.
(2) Interference prohibited. Communications antennas shall not cause radio frequency interference with any other communications facility located in the borough.
(3) Omnidirectional antennas. Omnidirectional communications antennas shall not exceed 20 feet in height and seven inches in diameter.
(4) Directional or panel antennas. Directional or panel communications antennas shall not exceed five feet in length and three feet in width.
(5) Front yard; location. Communications towers are not permitted to be located in any front yard.
(6) Setbacks. The foundation and base of any communications tower shall be set back from any abutting residential district at least 150 feet and shall be set back from any other property line, or a lease line, if applicable, at least 50 feet. In the event that a communications antenna located on a communications tower extends further than the foundation and base of the communications tower, the setback shall be measured from the furthest extended edge of the communications antenna. To the extent that a greater setback is required by any other applicable section of this chapter, the greater setback shall apply.
(7) Maximum height. The maximum height of any communications tower shall be 150 feet. The height may be increased to no more than 200 feet, provided that the required setbacks from adjoining property lines, or lease lines, if applicable, are increased by one foot per each one foot in height in excess of 150 feet.
(8) Communications equipment buildings. Communications equipment buildings associated with the use of a communications tower or with communications antennas mounted on a communications tower shall comply with the required yards and height requirements of the applicable zoning district.
(9) Access. Access shall be provided to the communications tower and any associated communications equipment building by means of a public street or easement to a public street. The easement shall be a minimum of 20 feet in width and shall be improved to a width of at least ten feet with a dust-free, all-weather surface for its entire length.
(11) Fencing. Notwithstanding § 155.054, the site of a communications tower shall be secured by a fence with a maximum height of eight feet to limit accessibility by the general public.
(12) Guy wires. All guy wires associated with guyed communications towers shall be located within the facility’s fenced enclosure.
(13) Signs and lights. No signs or lights shall be mounted on a communications tower, except as may be required by the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Aviation Administration or other governmental agency which has jurisdiction, other than those needed to identify the property or warn of any danger or for other safety reasons.
(14) Maintenance. Communications towers shall be protected and maintained in accordance with the requirements of the borough’s Building Code, as well as federal and state regulations.
(15) Landscaping and screening. The base of a communications tower shall be landscaped so as to screen the foundation and base and communications equipment building from abutting properties.
(16) Aviation regulations. Communications towers shall comply with all applicable Federal Aviation Administration, Commonwealth Bureau of Aviation and applicable airport zoning regulations.
(17) Removal.
(a) If a communications facility, communications tower, communications equipment building and/or communications antenna remains unused for a period of six consecutive months, the owner or operator shall dismantle and remove it within six months of the expiration of such six-month period. Costs of removal to be paid by the owner or operator.
(b) The owner of the real property on which the communications tower, communications equipment building and/or communications antenna is located shall be responsible for removal in the event that the owner or operator fails to remove in accordance with this chapter.
(c) If an owner or operator or the property owner fails to remove the communications tower, communications equipment building and/or communications antenna in accordance with this chapter, the borough shall have the authority to enter the subject property and remove the communications tower, communications equipment building or communications antenna.
(d) All costs of removal shall be borne by the owner or operator or the property owner, including the event of the borough’s removal of the tower.
(B) Additional standards for communications facilities.
(1) Standards. Communications facilities proposed or permitted by conditional use shall meet all standards set forth above, and must comply with the following additional requirements.
(2) Lapse. Any grant of use by conditional use will automatically lapse if the owner or operator’s FCC license ever expires, lapses or is revoked.
(3) Additional landscaping and camouflage requirements for communications facilities. Communications facilities as conditional use or special exceptions shall be camouflaged behind an effective year-round landscape buffer that is compatible with the uses of the neighboring properties.
(C) Application procedures for all communications facilities.
(1) The applicant shall submit a copy of its current Federal Communications Commission license; the name, address and emergency telephone number for the operator of the communications tower; and a certificate of insurance evidencing general liability coverage in the minimum amount of $1,000,000 per occurrence and property damage coverage in the minimum amount of $1,000,000 per occurrence covering the communications facilities, communications tower, communications antennas and communications equipment buildings.
(2) The applicant shall submit certification from a state registered professional engineer that the proposed communications tower will be designed and constructed in accordance with the current structural standards for material type antenna towers and antenna supporting structures, published by the Electrical Industrial Association/Telecommunications Industry Association and applicable requirements of the borough’s Building Code, as well as federal and state law.
(3) The applicant shall demonstrate that the proposed communications tower and communications antennas proposed to be mounted thereon comply with all applicable standards established by the Federal Communications Commission governing human exposure to electromagnetic radiation.
(D) Additional application procedures for communications facilities.
(1) Conditional use permit granting authority. The Borough Council shall have the authority to grant a permit for use as a conditional use for communications facilities, communications towers and communications antennas.
(2) Pre-application conference. Prior to submission of an application for use as a special exception, the applicant is strongly recommended to meet with the Zoning Officer to discuss the proposed communications facility, tower or antenna in general terms and to clarify the filing requirements. The applicant is encouraged to prepare sufficient preliminary drawings to inform the Zoning Officer of the location of the proposed facility, as well as its overall design.
(3) Application filing requirements. The following shall be included with an application for a use as a conditional use for all communications facilities and communications towers.
(a) General filing requirements to Zoning Officer.
1. Name, address and telephone number of the applicant and any co-applicants as well as any agents for the applicant or co-applicants;
2. Co-applicants may include the landowner of the subject property, licensed carriers and tenants of the communications tower;
3. A licensed carrier shall be either an applicant or co-applicant; and
4. Original signatures of the applicant and all co-applicants applying for the use by special exception.
(b) Location filing requirements to Zoning Officer.
1. Identification of the subject property including the property address;
2. Tax map and parcel number of the subject property;
3. Zoning district designation;
4. A borough-wide map showing the other existing communications facilities or communications towers in the borough; and
5. The proposed locations of all existing and future communications towers in the borough for this carrier.
(c) Filing requirements to the Borough Council.
1. Any applicant proposing construction of a new communications tower as a use by conditional use shall demonstrate that a good-faith effort has been made to obtain permission to mount the communications antennas on an existing communications tower or other structures (co-locate). A good-faith effort shall require that all owners of potentially suitable existing communications towers within a two-mile radius of the proposed communications tower site be contacted and that one or more of the following reasons for not selecting such location apply:
a. The proposed antennas and related equipment would exceed the structural capacity of the existing communications tower and its reinforcement cannot be accomplished at a reasonable cost;
b. The proposed antennas and related equipment would cause radio frequency interference with other existing equipment for that existing communications tower, and the interference cannot be prevented at a reasonable cost;
c. Such existing communications towers do not have adequate location, space, access or height to accommodate the proposed equipment or to allow it to perform its intended function;
d. Addition of the proposed antennas and related equipment would result in electromagnetic radiation from such communications tower exceeding applicable standards established by the Federal Communications Commission governing human exposure to electromagnetic radiation; and
e. A commercially reasonable agreement could not be reached with the owners of such or communications tower.
2. In the event that co-location is not feasible, a written statement for the reasons for the unfeasibility shall be submitted to the borough. The borough may retain an RF engineer to verify if co-location at the site is not feasible. The cost for such an engineer will be at the expense of the applicant. The borough may deny a permit if the applicant has not demonstrated a good-faith effort to provide for co-location.
(d) Site plan filing requirements to be submitted to the Planning Commission.
1. An applicant proposing construction of a new communications tower as a use by conditional use shall demonstrate that the proposed height of the communications tower is the minimum height necessary to perform its function.
2. A site plan diagram drawn to scale at one inch equals 40 feet showing the following:
a. Property lines for the subject property;
b. Property lines for all properties adjacent to the subject property and within 300 feet;
c. Zoning district designation of all adjacent properties;
d. Tree cover for the subject property and adjacent properties, by dominant species and average height, as measured by or available from a verifiable source;
e. Outline of all existing buildings, including those on the subject property and within 300 feet;
f. Proposed location of the communications tower and communications equipment buildings;
g. Proposed fencing including a description of such fencing and showing the point of entry to the facility;
h. Location of all roads, public and private, within 300 feet of the proposed facility, including driveways;
i. Distances at grade from the communications tower facility to each building on the site plan;
j. Contours at two-foot intervals;
k. All proposed changes to the existing property, including grading, vegetation removal and temporary or permanent roads and driveways;
l.. Representations, dimensioned and to scale, of the proposed communications towers, communications antennas, communications equipment buildings, cable runs, parking areas and any other construction on the property; and
m. Lines representing the sight line showing the viewpoint and visible point.
3. Sight lines and photographs as described below.
a. Sight line representation. A sight line representation shall be drawn from any public road within 300 feet and the nearest facade of each residential building within 300 feet to be the highest point of the communications tower. The profiles shall show all intervening trees and buildings.
b. Existing condition photographs. Each sight line shall be illustrated by one color photograph of what can currently be seen from any public road within 300 feet.
c. Proposed condition photographs. Each existing condition photograph shall have superimposed on it the proposed facility as seen from any public road.
4. Design filing requirements to be submitted to the Planning Commission.
a. Landscape plan including existing trees and shrubs, identified by size and species; and
b. A balloon or crane test at the proposed site to illustrate the height of the proposed facility. The date, time and location of such test shall be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation in the borough at least 14 days prior to the test.
(Ord. 1089, passed 5-19-2014) Penalty, see § 10.99